Posted by Adele Youngs

09 April 2019

ETIAS Visa Waiver Scheme for the Schengen Area

As of 01 January 2021, citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and 56 other countries, will need to have registered for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) Visa Waiver in order to travel to countries in the Schengen area.

The Schengen Area includes 26 European countries, 22 of which are in the EU, and 4 are within the European Free Trade Association. The UK, Ireland and Croatia are among a handful of European countries which are NOT within the Schengen Area and therefore not affected by this (you can see a full list of Schengen countries here).

The scheme will be similar to the ESTA scheme that the USA has in place already. Applicants will need to fill out a registration form online, with basic biographical information, details of a valid passport, answer some security and health questions and provide a valid email address. A payment via a debit or credit card of approximately EUR 7 will need to be made. It is estimated that the application will take around 10 minutes to complete and 95% of applicants will receive an approval within minutes.

Once approved, the ETIAS authorisation will be valid for three years (or until the passport associated with it expires).

Citizens of countries not included in the 60 countries currently eligible will be required to follow standard visa application procedures as required.

We always recommend travellers check with their embassy (or appropriate authority) for the most up to date visa requirements.

For further information on the ETIAS scheme, please click here.